Jury Convicts Gang Member of Murdering Pregnant Woman And Boyfriend
Updated: Nov 24, 2021
It took nearly four years for the families of Keith Williams and Marlazia Jones-Mattox – robbed and shot to death on January 2, 2018 – to see a little justice.
On Monday, a Franklin County jury convicted gangbanger Christian Daequan
Dillion, 23, for the murder of Williams, 23, and Jones-Mattox, 21. The jury also found Dillion guilty of aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, attempted murder, and felonious assault.
At the time of the shooting, Jones-Mattox was 35 weeks pregnant with her only child. Tyra Mattox, Marlazia's stepmother, says doctors managed to save her grandson but not without the baby suffering severe permanent damage. "He was without oxygen for about 45 minutes," explains Mattox. "He has cerebral palsy, speech delay, his auditory nerve does not connect to his brain stem. He will need care for the rest of his life."
Mattox says she will be at the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas next Tuesday when Dillion is sentenced. "We are not really at peace as of yet," says Mattox. "I am very grateful for the jury and their decisions."
Mario Wade, 22, the co-defendant in this case, goes to trial on January 28, 2022.
Wade remains behind bars at the Franklin County Jail on a $3 million bond.
Police tell The Sussi Report that both Dillion and Wade ran with local gangs, Hilltop Boys and Fetti Gang Nation. (The jury convicted Dillion on a criminal gang specification).
Both young thugs have alarming juvenile criminal histories. In the Ohio juvenile justice system, minors aren't found guilty of crimes but adjudicated. The court adjudicated Dillion delinquent in 2013 and 2015 on robbery and felonious assault charges, respectfully. Likewise for Wade in 2015 for felonious assault.
"There will never be closure for us; there will never be justice," says Mattox. "We
have to look at my grandson every day and watch him struggle. And when do we tell him that we are not his parents?"